Untold (The Lynburn Legacy 2) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Summary: Free from bonds, but not each otherIt’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?’

Review:Hurls iPad across the room. Muffles a scream of frustration. Sighs and goes over to retrieve said iPad.

I absolutely hated this book (no, not really). It made me want to pull my hair out (seriously, I have bald spots). But for the “lovely, lovely readers who suffered over the ending of Unspoken,” it’s definitely a must-read. Yeah, I read your acknowledgement at the end of this book. I am on to you, lady!!! 😡

In Brennan’s defense, my rating probably has to do a lot with my feelings toward Kami. Those who knew me when I read the ARC for Unspoken, knows there I have NO lost love for her. Yep, she’s still the sarcastic, nosy, self-righteous, “I’m going to find out the truth and write all about it” know-it-all that she has always been. And speaking of her “journalistic skills” – yes, it’s in quotes – I’m NOT impressed. (view spoiler) I just hate it when people like her give the stereotypically wrong impression of reporters. Sorry for the rant, but I just had to put that out there.

Putting that part aside, Kami STILL annoyed me to no end. For someone who prided herself as a keen, observant journalist, she really was blind to everything that was going on and was really slow to catch up. I understand that she’s lost a piece of herself, and she’s unsure of what was real, but geez! Open your eyes! She has NO idea what she’s talking bout, and she kept making assumptions instead of asking, leading to one stupid action after another.

But, but, what happens between Kami and Jared? Do they get it together? I can’t tell you. (Don’t throw anything at me!) But I WILL tell you this – and you probably already guess it. Be prepared for those scenes where (view spoiler) Yep, leave your eReaders in their protective cases and style your hair in a ponytail or bun where it’s hard to pull. But will it be all worth it in the end? You just have to read it and see.

A few other issues before I get to the good stuff. The beginning of the book was so depressing to read. Jared was being a complete and utterly stoic jerk, and everyone was so mean. I really, really wanted to slap Holly. And Ash? What HAPPENED to him? I mean, I get that he was hiding his true nature in the first book, but seriously? To go from a pretty conniving villain to such a “bunny killer” in this book was so disappointing. It was pathetic really.

Despite all of that, I still love Rusty, as I had claimed in my review of Unspoken. He’s so goofy in a dorky kind of way that just makes me chuckle and shake my head. And he’s pompous, but in a hilariously entertaining sort of way, not because he really thinks that much of himself. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s hot and very charming when it comes to the ladies. Swoon! It’s just a shame that (view spoiler)

Anyway, I still thought the story was pretty good, although it’s nothing like the uniqueness of them being in each other’s minds from book 1. There was a good mix of kick-butt action and learning about the magic, although I did have a pretty ridiculous image in my head (view spoiler) The history of Matthew Cooper was really intriguing, and it makes you wonder if history had and possibly will repeat itself again. It was really interesting to see who was on which side, and it was gripping to see who was going to come out on top because you could never tell if Lillian or Rob had the upper hand.

Don’t get me wrong, there were parts were I wanted to squee, and chapter 20 was an AWESOME chapter. But then, I had to suit up and go back onto the battlefield. And why did I throw my iPad? The end! OMG, the end! No, “lovely, lovely readers who suffered over the ending of Unspoken,” there is not a cliffhanger. Ha suckers! Brennan is (view spoiler) 😛 But, but, still… Ah dangit, I can’t spoil anything. Just read the book.

I know this book had a lot of the usually drama that goes along with being the “middle book,” which counts a lot to why my review seems so negative. But when I wasn’t cursing at the story, I was flipping through the pages, really enjoying the book. I can tell that Brennan is just rounding everyone up for the next book, which is going to be explosive. Now, if only I can hang on long enough for this book to come out before the next one even has an ARC.